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"Trekking in Nepal", by Stephen Bezruchka, is the definitive book on this subject. ISBN = 0-89886-535-2, SEVENTH Edition (1997). If you are interested in trekking, you just about have to buy this book. It gives excellent info on all aspects of trekking in Nepal, and similar places. For more details about any particular route, there may be further information. His equipment check-lists are almost as good as mine. I even spotted PATIENCE and ADAPTABILITY in one of his lists! Lovely!! (But he neglected to mention earplugs...)

Peter Owens' Treks
Peter Owens' description of this trek really WAS quite realistic. You can look up Peter's Web site at: http://www.InstantWeb.com/p/peterowens.

Or write to Peter's Agent: Govind Shahi, Himalayan Treasures and Travel, 3596 Ponderosa Trail, Pinole CA 94564.

Or telephone him at 800-223-1813, or 510-222-5307. Request info on any of Peter's treks that you are interested in - or curious about.

After you get the basic list of treks, you can see which ones sound interesting and suitable, for YOU, in terms of time, and how interesting and strenuous they are. Then you can ask (by email, which is very convenient) or by phone or mail, for info on any trip you are interested in.

Wilderness Travel?
If you are able to get on the Web, it is easy to look up Wilderness Travel at http://www.wildernesstravel.com. They have nice descriptions of their treks, excellent pictures and images, and their treks look very good. They are also expensive. They cost about twice as much, and cover about half as many miles, as Peter Owens' comparable treks do. So when in Nepal, I would not likely trek with anybody else beside Peter. But I like to look at the WT pages, and their colorful catalogs. If you are not a Web-oriented guy, write to them at: Wilderness Travel, 801 Allston way, Berkeley Ca 94710 or call: 800-368-2794, or 510-548-0420... - and they will cheerfully send you a catalog. I will definitely recommend their treks for places other than Nepal. I took one trek with them, several years ago, the tour around Mont Blanc, and it was a very good trek. Great leaders.

Sobek/ Mountain Travel
My sister took a trek with these guys, to Annapurna Sanctuary, and she thought they did it very well. She had nothing but good words to say about them, and their nice people. I don't know much about them, but I am sure they run good treks. Good, and expensive. Call 510-527-8100 or 1-888-MTSOBEK ( 888-687-6235) - Their Web Site is at http://www.mtsobek.com.

Himalayan High Treks
I do not know anybody who has gone on a trek with this new trekking outfit run by Effie Fletcher in San Francisco, but her literature says a lot of the "right" (environmentally- and culturally-sensitive) things. You might check them out at 800-455-8735 or at their web site: http://www.HimalayanHighTreks.com

Kayaks and Rafting?
Peter said that Ultimate Descents is the best raft trip group in Nepal. I dropped in to their office in Pokhara. They were running raft trips in two places: One of them was the Marsyangdi Khola, below Ngadi, which we hiked along. Other Rafters claimed to be running raft trips on a LARGE number of rivers. Maybe the Ultimate guys are more discriminating? We saw some guys kayaking on the Marsyangdi Khola, below Ngadi. They seemed to be having fun. I'll let other people do that.

Also I read about this trek in several books:
- - - - - Kev Reynolds wrote an excellent little book about the Annapurna Circuit, and if you are going trekking there, I'll recommend it. It is out of print in the USA, but in Kathmandu, if you go to the top of the hill in Thamel, the bookstores there may have it in stock for a while.

- - - - - Carol bought another good little book in Kathmandu, on the Annapurna Circuit. Title = ??

- - - - - The next two books are not ESSENTIAL or useful, if you are going on this trek, but if you happen to run into these books, they could give you a chance to compare different treks, hikes, and walks. They give you a chance to CALIBRATE this hike versus other hikes you may have been on, or other hikes you might want to do. Books like these are often found in libraries; it's worth a try.

- - - - - "Where Mountains Live: Twelve Great Treks of the World", 1987, by Leo LeBon, Aperture Books, ISBN : 0-89381-242-0. This tells about his treks on the Annapurna Circuit, in 1977 and 1986. A little old, but this still gives you a good picture about these regions. Info on 11 other treks.

- - - - - "Classic Walks of the World", 1985. Editted by Walt Unsworth. Trek report by Dennis Kemp. Also good text and a good overview of the hike and the regions. Info on 16 other treks.

Book Stores
Any of these books may be purchasable from here in the States. (Some of them might be out of print.) They may also be bought in Kathmandu, such as in Pilgrim's Bookstore, up in Thamel, adjacent to the Northfield Inn. When you get to Kathmandu, you should DEFINITELY check out this place. A GREAT bookstore. Don't ask their address, as these streets have no names or numbers, but if you go to Thamel, and ask "?? Pilgrim Book Store??", you could not fail to get good directions to there.

Teahouse Trekking
I have a friend, Brian Dipert, who has some web pages with some very good stories about travelling by the Teahouse Route, which means just carrying your sleeping bag, and staying in little inns, and eating at the local inns and restaurants ("Teahouses"). I do not at all doubt this is a very nice and interesting way to travel. I sure do want to try it, someday. If you have more time than money, this is definitely worth considering. Trekking around Nepal by this way would be fascinating, and inexpensive, and fun. But you have to be aware of the possibility that you could get sick with some gastro-intestinal problems, and have troubles completing your trek on schedule.

I have a preference for trekking with a good group, such as Peter Owens', because I have LESS time than money. But even if you go trekking with a group, you should look at Mr. Dipert's stories, and be aware of this mode of trekking. Visit URLs below for the 1998 trek: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/5902/nepaljrn.htm

with a nice gallery of (photos) at:

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/5902/nepalpix.htm

Also click (here) for the 1999 trek:

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/5902/nepal_journal_1999.htm

Brian tells many stories about trekking, and getting an appreciation for the people and places of Nepal. If you read a lot, you will learn a lot... and enjoy and appreciate your trek more, too.

High-altitude Stuff
I just read in a book, that the Rongbuk Monastery at 16,500 feet is the highest inhabited dwelling in the word. Maybe so, but some guy was running a tea-house at 16,500 feet, a couple miles east of Thorong La. And somebody was selling tea at the pass, at 17,772 feet. and I'm sure these people did not go down the hill every night, after the last trekkers left. So there are some inhabitted places that are pretty well up there. You can walk right up there and buy a cup of tea, for a few rupees.

Come to think of it, I know that the boiling point of water has dropped a lot at 10,000 feet. If somebody poured you a cup of boiling tea at 17,773 feet - could you drink it right down? How hot is that? - That would be about 192 degrees F, 20 degrees cooler than usual. If the tea were poured into a pre-heated glass, it would still be too hot for most people to drink, but if poured into a cup, might be just right.

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